Human-wildlife conflict and coexistence

Large carnivores – bears, wolves, cougars - are some of the most treasured species in Canada, yet our ability to coexist with these iconic animals is tenuous. Conflict with carnivores, including property damage and attacks on people, is increasing. In addition to the impact on people, these conflicts typically lead to the removal of ‘problem’ animals from the landscape. Conflict can therefore contribute towards a reduction in carnivore populations and alter the myriad ecological processes shaped by top predators. In spite of these conflicts, societal values are becoming increasingly ‘carnivore friendly’, such that management options used in the past (i.e., culling) are rapidly losing social license. There is a clear need to develop tools to resolve conflict and find new pathways towards coexistence.

﻿Connectivity in the Rocky Mountains

Wolverine Overpass bridges the Trans-Canada Highway on a cool October day. Overpasses like this one are preferred by grizzly bears and wolves, while cougars and black bears tend to use underpasses more frequently. (Photo by Adam T. Ford)

One of the leading methods used to curb the effects of habitat fragmentation involves wildlife corridors – linear areas set aside from human development to facilitate the movement of organisms among habitat patches. Rooted in the foundational theories of spatial ecology, island biogeography, and metapopulation ecology, corridors have been an important tool in conservation and wildlife management since the 1970s. Despite their intuitive appeal and widespread implementation, scientific understanding of how to optimize corridor design and quantify their functionality is lacking (see the 'desperate plea' from Beier and Gregory, 2012).

My research is helping to fill this knowledge gap by linking recently developed theory in movement ecology with long-term monitoring data from snow tracking and telemetry to quantify corridor functionality for an assemblage of large mammals (wolves, cougars, G- and B- bears, elk, moose, deer, lynx) in the Rocky Mountains. Specifically, my project is addressing three questions:1) What design features of corridors increase the likelihood of use by wildlife?2) To what extent does animal behaviour affect optimal corridor design?3) Can selected focal species serve as surrogates or indicators of connectivity for other species?

Predator-Prey Ecology

Impala live between a rock and a hard place, avoiding the claws and teeth of their predators, and the spines and noxious chemicals of their food. This tension changes the plant community across the landscape. (Photo by Adam T. Ford).

Large mammals hold a uniquely important place in the world: from the protagonist in thousands of children’s stories, the centerpiece of a multi-million dollar tourism industry, or one of the most compelling and well-studied ecological systems encountered, these animals continue to captivate our imaginations.

Understanding the direct and indirect interactions among these iconic species is one of the most exciting avenues of research in modern ecology. In this system, we are learning about the nuances of trophic cascades and the non-consumptive effects of predation (Ford et al. 2014). This research is being conduced in collaboration with: Drs. Jacob Goheen, Abdullahi Hussein Ali, Caroline Ng'weno, Ali Rob Pringle, Rosie Woodroffe, David Augustine, Tim O'Brien, Margaret Kinnaird, Todd Palmer, Lynne A. Isbell.

Road ecology

A game of frogger for this mustelid! Tracks from a marten show clear road avoidance along this snowy meadow. (Photo by Adam T. Ford)

Despite both their ubiquity around the world and their small physical footprint, roads and the traffic on them are one of the most pervasive drivers of landscape change (see more here).

Since 2004, I have worked to quantify how roads affect wildlife movement and mortality. This research is teaching us how roads affect wildlife mortality, movement, and species interactions. We are also learning new ways to better mitigate and manage these effects for a wide range of vertebrates, including high-elevation localized species like wolverine.